


Unrequited

by Paragraphss



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Caring Annabeth, Crushing, Dead Leo, Depressed Nico, Fluff, Forgive Me, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Leo and Nico are oblivious, Leo and Nico friendship, M/M, Nico Feels, Possibly Unrequited Love, Protective Jason Grace, Secret Crush, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, angsty ending, im sorry, slight AU, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-19 19:45:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11904927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paragraphss/pseuds/Paragraphss
Summary: And what if he stares at you, every time you look away?Prequel to Skinny Love - a glimpse into Leo and Nico's budding friendship two years before.(Slight AU)





	Unrequited

The wind blew lazily into his face, soothing Nico's nerves. It hadn't been many days since he had joined the crew of the Argo II, but he already felt out of place. Everyone was so in tune with each other, and Nico didn't fit in their perfect little jigsaw puzzle. He was just a... bit of extra baggage that they had to carry until they found a use for him. Nothing more.

It was late. Almost midnight. The moon was hanging high in the sky, casting shadows upon Nico's face. He felt stronger at night, like his body was more accustomed to the dark sky and the glittering starts and everything that came along with it. The bump in the dark, the shadows of the moon. The darkness was his to command, yet, even being the proclaimed Ghost King, he didn't feel like he deserved the title. After being in that jar, he felt weaker than ever. Night or not.

He sighed. Cold air was pushed from his mouth, a small cloud of mist appearing in front of him. The air was cold, but it didn't affect him. His entire body was in a constant state of icy coolness, so he was used to it. But his warm breath hitting the cool air was probably a sign that he should head back to his bedroom. Well, it was really Leo's, but he barely used it anymore, so he said Nico could use it. Where Leo did sleep, if he ever did, was a mystery. 

Nico stood up, his legs weak and wobbling. His seat at the front of the boat was dangerous, especially in his position. The sky was dark, and Nico couldn't see anything apart from the pitch black water beneath them. That filled him with a sense of slight safety. It was most likely that nothing would be attacking the ship that night. As he turned to go to his- and Leo's- cabin, he spotted said boy stood at the controls. 

Leo had been at the ships control panel all day, and now halfway into the night. Nico knew he should try and take over from him, but he would be clueless as to how the ship worked. How Leo did it for days straight was beyond him. Well, he did design the ship, so it wasn't that hard to believe. But the amount of extra things he had added during their journey was a little ridiculous. 

"Leo?" Nico called. Leo glanced over at him, smiling a little.  

"Sup, Ghost King?" He said wearily. Nico could tell he was exhausted. Annabeth was the only one who knew how to fly the ship well enough that they felt like they would capsize immediately, so maybe he could wake her up and force Leo to bed? God's, he felt like Hazel now.

"Aren't you tired?" He tried. Leo attempted to shake his head, but yawned in the process. Nico smiled softly.

"Come on, go to bed. I'll go and get Annabeth. She'll understand." Nico walked up to Leo and made sure he put everything down, then took his wrist and pulled him towards Leo's room. He could hear the Latino boy protesting quietly, but blocked it out and continued on his path towards their room. On the way, Nico knocked quietly on Annabeth door. To his surprise, she opened it completely dressed.

"Hey Nico. Need me to take over?" She guessed, gesturing towards Leo, who looked like he was about to pass out. Nico nodded with a light-tipped smile and moved back slightly, to let her past. She turned off her lights and started towards the deck, but turned back before she disappeared.

"You can use my room for the night, if you want. Make sure he gets to bed and stays there, though. We need him awake, not like a zombie." Nico nodded and carried on, pulling her door shut for her. Leo's room was only a few doors down, and he entered, quietly closing the door behind him. He guided Leo to the bed, and the taller boy flopped on it straight away. Nico pulled the covers over him and went to flick off the lights when Leo whined in disagreement.

"Stay." He whimpered. Nico hesitated. He barely knew Leo, but he wanted him to be awake in the morning, feeling well-rested, and he didnt want to take the risk that Leo might not fall asleep unless Nico complied with his request. After a few minutes of mental arguing, he shrugged off his aviator jacket and stripped of his jeans and socks, folding them and turning off the light, before sliding into bed next to Leo. The boy was warm, unsurprisingly so. Nico lay rigid, not knowing what to do.

Leo decided for him, by wrapping a tanned arm around his waist, and burying his head into the crook of Nico's pale neck. Nico's left arm was now being used as Leo's pillow. But after a few seconds he caved and brought it up to cup Leo's shoulder. His other am rested gently on his own stomach. He closed his eyes when Leo's gentle snores filled the room, and not long after, he fell asleep too.

***

The next day wasn't too awkward. The two boys had woken up to Nico spooning Leo, but the latter shrugged it off as nothing major and continued about his morning normally. To Nico's delight, Leo had slept for a good ten hours, surprisingly but well-deserved. He looked marginally better now, more human. His eyes weren't dead. He didn't look like he was going to fall over with each step he took. 

 Annabeth didn't seem too tired when Nico ventured up to the deck. The sun was blinding, hurting his eyes after being in the dark underbelly of the ship for so long. She was smiling as he walked up, and Nico managed to force a small one back before observing the scene. Jason was stood by Percy, and they had their heads together, whispering quietly. Piper was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Hazel, Frank or Leo. They were probably having breakfast.

Nico sauntered up to Annabeth hesitantly. After getting over his crush on Percy, he didn't feel too awkward talking Annabeth, but she was still extremely terrifying. She waved at him as he walked over, though, to his surprise.

"Hey Nico!" She chirped. "How was Leo?" 

"Fine. He slept for ten hours. He should be better today." Nico replied. Annabeth hummed in agreement, pressing a few buttons on the controls. Nico lingered for a few moments, before the familiar voice of Hazel Levesque grabbed his attention.

"Nico? Are you coming to breakfast?" She asked. Nico shook his head. She sighed and stalked up the deck. 

"I haven't seen you eat in nearly two days. Come on." She ordered. Nico would never admit it, but Hazel did scare him a little bit. She was very persistent, and Nico didn't feel like being at the receiving end of her insistent comments. He caved easily and followed her to the mess hall. 

The walls were still covered in pictures from Camp Half-Blood. Leo had put them there to give the seven hope, but it was obvious that it was just making them homesick. Leo hadn't gotten around to taking them down. Nico wished he could feel the same pang in his chest when he looked at them, but if he didn't see Camp as his home, he had nothing to be homesick about. 

Leo and Frank were arguing quietly when he entered, but stopped when they noticed Nico and Hazel. She handed Nico a plate of food and forced him into a chair. Nico pushed his food around with his finger. He wasn't hungry, but he could feel Hazel's eyes burning into the side of his head, so he took a bite of his croissant. It was plain. Nico didn't feel like eating it, but now he could feel Leo and Frank watching him too, so he took another bite. Under the careful eye of the three demigods, he consumed a croissant and a half, and a few slices of apple. Hazel didn't push him anymore though, because she didn't want to risk angering him.

Hazel and Frank took their leave not long after that, saying something about wanting to help out on deck. Nico didn't bother following them- he didn't really feel like talking with the crew anymore. He did, however, briefly wonder about where Piper was, but didn't dwell on it for too long, as he realised that Leo was still sat opposite him, munching on some grilled cheese.

Nico had never really spoken to Leo alone before, apart from a few instances where they found themselves alone, and accidentally started awkward small-talk. He kmew Leo found him a little creepy, ans that was nobody's fault but his own. Nico shuffled in his seat.

"So..." Leo whistled. Nico glanced at him. "This is..."

"Awkward? Unnecessary? I agree." Nico supplied. Leo nodded thoughtfully.

"I was going to say weird, but that works." Leo grinned. Nico pursed his lips. They sat in silence for a few moments, until Leo couldn't help himself.

"Hey Ghost King?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard of the drug called Medusa?" Leo giggled at Nico's confused expression.

"No..?"

"I heard it gets you stoned." Leo convulsed in hysterical laughter, clutching his stomach as Nico watched him, slowly shaking his head. Leo was almost crying at his own joke. Though, Nico did crack a small grin. Soon enough, Leo recovered, letting out a small laugh every so often as he replayed the joke in his head.

"That... was terrible." Nico deadpanned. Leo scoffed.

"I saw you laugh. Don't deny it!" He threatened lightly, laughing again. Nico put his hands in the air in mock surrender.

"Thanks, though. For last night." He said quietly. Nico smiled. He stood up at the same time as Leo, then took a few tentative steps towards him. When Leo didn't protest, he pulled him into a quick hug. Leo hugged back, albeit a little awkward at first. Nico pulled back and left the mess hall, navigating his way back to their room, a small smile playing on his lips. Maybe being Leo's friend wouldn't be too bad.

***

A week passed without anything major happening. The ship got attacked a few times, but wasn't too badly damaged. Nico's strength was slowly returning, but he was far from being at full capacity. He had barely slept in the last few days either. 

He and Leo had made a silent agreement that Nico would sleep with Leo at night. It was completely platonic, of course, but Leo found it hard to sleep alone these days, and Nico was already sleeping in his room. But at night Nico would lay in bed for hours upon hours, staring at the ceiling, glancing around the room, trying to find something to do to pass the time. He found nothing, but endured the boredom to ensure his new-found friend get enough sleep.

On the nights that Leo was flying the ship, Nico joined him, sitting at the front of the boat for a while, before migrating up to talk to Leo. The Son of Hephaestus had been trying to teach him the controls, but he didn't understand what half of them meant, so they gave up pretty quickly. Instead, Leo have him snippets of his, Jason's and Piper's journey back when Percy went missing. Nico felt a pang of guilt- he had known where Percy was, but didn't come forth with that information. Sure, it all worked out in the end, but Nico couldn't help but feel it would've been quicker to give Percy back at the start.

'Hey Nico. I'm going to go and see if I can nap for a hour or two. You coming?" Nico nodded. "Do you want to see if Percy or Jason are awake?" Leo called down to him as an afterthought. Nico gave Leo a thumbs up and stood up, using Festus' head as support. Nico was lucky; Percy and Jason's rooms were right next to each other, so he wouldn't have to go far if he found that one wasn't awake enough to sail. 

He tried Jason's room first. He knocked once, and was met with silence. He pushed the door open slightly and peeked inside; Jason was fast asleep. He sighed and closed the door. He was hoping Jason would be awake so he wouldn't have to knock on Percy's door. When he did, a muffled 'Come in' told him Percy was awake. The door squeaked slightly as he entered.

"Hey, Percy..." He mumbled. Percy smiled. He was slumped over his desk, head in his hands, hair going every direction. Nico had the urge to smooth it down.

"Hey Neeks." He nodded. Nico's brow furrowed in concern.

"Are you alright?"

"Dandy." Percy replied monotonously. Nico didn't press further, instead just casting his gaze to the floor.

"Uh, Leo wanted to nap for a few hours, would you mind taking over?" Nico relayed Leo's message. Percy stood up and exited the room quickly, not bothering to turn off the lights or say anything to the smaller boy. Nico sighed- something was obviously on Percy's mind, but Nico didn't want to risk making him more upset by pestering him. He dimmed the lights and pulled the door shut, just in time to see Leo come down the hall. 

Leo climbed into bed almost immediately, only stopping to remove his shirt and shoes. Nico tugged his jeans and boots off too, then climbed into bed next to Leo. It was ritual now, to slide under the covers next to Leo and lay there while Leo cuddled up to him. Some nights Nico could feel Leo shaking, from a nightmare or a dream, he didn't know. Only once did he wake up screaming, but Nico was already awake so he was quick to sooth him.

Leo rolled onto his side, and Nico automatically wrapped his arms around him lazily, pulling him flush against him. For the first time in days he had been incredibly tired, so these few hours of sleep would do him good. Leo didn't complain as Nico buried his head in his unruly curls. The Ghost King dropped off quickly, but Leo was still awake.

Leo had never really thought about his weird sleeping arrangement, but for some reason, be it overthinking or the fact that Nico had fallen asleep before him, he was hyper-aware of the fact that he was spooning with Nico, and he _enjoyed_ it. He couldn't remeber whether they'd spoken about it aloud, or it had just been something silent that had just happened. His bets were on the latter.

So as he lay, completely awake, he realised how bored Nico must get. Because Leo knew his roommate wasn't sleeping properly, from the amount of times he accidentally woke up and saw Nico staring at the ceiling, or found him studying some of the components on his work table. How Nico voluntarily went through that every night was beyond him, but he was nagged with one small question. 

 _Why_?

***

Nico and Leo became rather close in the days that passed. They were practically inseparable. Bonding over how different they really were, how they both felt like they didn't belong (Nico spent an entire hour attempting to convince Leo that he didn't belong, otherwise he wouldn't have been chosen for the task. He failed). On the nights that Nico couldn't sleep, Leo stayed up longer, talking until Nico felt a little sleepier. 

Leo learned a lot about the Son of Hades. He now knew that Nico hid his Italian accent, he still cried over his sister (understandable), and he raised ghosts by feeding them Happy Meals. He also knew what happened to his mother, and the story as to how Percy found out his dad was Hades. Nico learned about the workshop fire, how Leo built the Argo II, and all of the stuff Hera did when he was a baby. He also found out about the infamous Wilderness School, where Jason, Piper and Coach Hedge also were. Nico had heard small snippets about it before, but Leo brought the entire thing to light.

Ever since the night that he had pulled Leo into spoon when he was completely awale, Nico had begun to isolate himself again, and in the days that he and Leo begun talking more, he stayed only in his room, talking to Leo and reading books. They were incredibly boring, but he didn't feel like leaving the room, so he powered through it. Leo had joined him as he read, watching him from his seat on the bed. Nico was propped against the wall.

"Want to play truth or dare?" Leo asked suddenly. Nico faced contorted in confusion. Leo grinned.

"It's a game where if you pick truth, you have to answer a question about yourself in complete honesty. If you do a dare, then you have to do whatever I tell you." Leo explained. 

"Oh. Okay." Nico said, placing his book down. Leo smiled mischievously, making Nico worry. What was he getting himself into?

*

Nico immediately regretted his decision. So far, Leo had made him dress in a tutu (where he got it from was another mystery), made him swear on the River Styx (the promise would be something he was never going to repeat), and pour honey down his shirt. Leo, on the other hand, had spoken about all of his crushes, was now soaking wet, and had rainbow nails, courtesy of Piper. She had also roped him into getting his makeup done, on Nico's request, but it was smudged from the water. 

"Truth or dare?" Leo leant forwards, resting his head on his hands. Nico vaguely wondered about how they'd go to sleep, if they would, when Leo was dripping water all over it.

"Truth."

"Have you had a crush on any of the lovely girls on the ship?" Leo wiggled his eyebrows. Nico blushed and shook his head. That was the truth. Leo narrowed his eyes.

"You're blushing. C'mon, tell the truth." Leo pressed. 

"I am!" Nico cried. Leo smiled.

"Boys, then?" He guessed. Nico blushed harder.

"Ha! I knew it! Who?" Leo was acting like a twelve years old, giggling over his friends crush and trying to get them to tell him, but he didn't care. He found it amusing, watching Nico blush. 

"Nobody." Nico suppressed a grin. Leo groaned.

"Come on!" He whined. Nico shrugged.

"Truth or dare?" He asked. Leo replied truth almost immediately.

"Who have you kissed before?" Nico had an evil glint in his eyes. Leo gulped.

"..." He mumbled. Nico raised a hand to his ear.

"What was that? Sorry, I didn't catch what you said." He teased. Leo's cheeks darkened.

"... Nobody." He repeated. Nico smiled.

"Neither have I. Join the club."

"Thanks."

It was awkward now, the air stuffy. Nico coughed into his hand and stood up, pulling off the tutu. 

"That's enough for one night." He murmured. Leo made a squeaking noise which Nico took for agreement. He removed his jacket and shirt, for the first time in front of the older boy, and slid on a new one, which Leo had passed over to him silently. It was grey, not usually his type, but it would do. He slipped his aviator jacket back on, then realised they had nowhere to sleep.

"Where are we going to sleep?" He wondered aloud. Leo shrugged. Nico sighed and gave up trying to talk to the Latino boy, and exited the cabin, knocking quickly on Percy's. After explainimg the situation with his own bed, Percy let him in, and Nico spend the night curled up next to the Son of Poseidon, sleeping peacefully for the first time in a while. 

(His thoughts flitted to Leo, and how he hoped he had found someone to sleep next to, but sleep quickly washed over them).

***

Nico woke up alone. 

The covers were still on his body, and he could see the outline of where Percy's body had lain, but the room was empty. He could feel the howling of the wind against the wall, and the thrum of the machines below him, and the faint chatter of people above him. He was fully clothed, and seeing as he didn't really have anything else to change into, he zipped his aviator jacket up, ran a hand through his hair, and left the room, pulling the door shut.

He could hear commotion on the deck, and Coach Hedge went zooming past, shouting 'Hurry up, Cupcakes, you're keeping your visitor waiting!'. Nico was sure they didn't have a visitor, and Coach was spouting nonsense, but as he stumbled onto the deck, he spotted a figure draped in a purple cloak.

He very nearly didn't recognise Reyna. Her face was covered in a dusting of soot, with scratches and blood covering her entire body. Nico stayed at the back of the group as they fussed over her. He wasn't sure if she would recognise him from his time at Camp Jupiter.

After Reyna explained why she was there and said hello to everyone (except Nico), everyone calmed down a bit. They even invited her to have lunch. Nico realised he must've slept for longer that he originally thought, if they were having lunch. But that wasn't his most urgent thought- he realised that nobody had actually realised he was there. Coach Hedge had just ran down the corridor screaming, not actually looking at who he was screaming at. And he'd been in deck for fifteen minutes now, surely someone should've seen him by now?

He followed the group into the mess hall, still forced to the back. Coach Hedge left them, saying something about needing to rematch some film. Reyna took the last seat, leaving Nico to lean against the wall with his arms folded. Leo waved at him before tucking into some ham sandwiches. So someone did know he was there. That was a relief. The rest of the Seven ate with smiles, briefly discussing battle plans. Then they got onto the topic of the Athena Parthenos, and how they were to escort it to Camp Half-Blood. Because as nice as it looked hanging out of the bottom of the ship, it couldn't stay there.

"I could take it." Nico offered suddenly, with a small smile. The entire room froze, and everyone's eyes slid to him, only just realising his presence. Apart from Leo, who was looking at him funny.

"You?" Leo questioned. Nico frowned.

"Yeah? I could shadow travel with it." Nico replied pointedly. Leo looked sceptical. 

"But, you're like..." Leo trailed off, not finishing his thought. Nico narrowed his eyes. 

"Like what?" He growled. Leo gulped. 

"Nothing." He squeaked. Nico glanced around the room with a stormy expression then stalked off, and the entire room could hear the bedroom door slam. Annabeth immediately turned to Leo.

"This is the first time he's been out of his room in days and you send him straight back?" She hissed. Leo frowned.

"You didn't even notice he was with us until he spoke up. He was standing there while you ate and talked to Reyna, he was there when she greeted everyone, but she didn't say hello to him. I was the one who noticed him, and I questioned why he should go because he hasn't been sleeping and he's probably weak as hell. So I'm sorry if I wanted to take care of my friend." He fired back, and for once, Annabeth had no retort. She slid back into her seat and ate her food quietly, watching as Leo scraped back his seat and left. A few minutes later Jason came down and took Leo's seat. Leo had obviously taken the controls off of Jason, which was probably for the best. He needed to cool down.

The entire room was silent, like if they've spoke, another bomb would go off. The only sound was the crunch of Percy's crisps as he ate them.

***

Leo was still flying the ship when Nico, Reyna and Coach Hedge emerged from their rooms. Leo had opted out of attending the meeting where they decided who would escort the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood, and apparently, this trio was who was going. It was a good choice, Leo supposed. Nico would shadow travel, Reyna had the skills to defend them, ans Coach Hedge was a healer. Coach held all of the supplies in his bag. Nico was holding the hilt of his stygian iron sword, ans Reyna had the handle of her golden dagger. Reyna requested that Leo set the giant statue on the hill that he had found last night, and he did do, flicking some buttons and maneuvering a lever that safely deposited it. As Reyna and Coach climbed down the ladder, Leo called out to Nico.

The boy turned, his eyes filled with confusion. Leo abandoned the controls and walked over to meet them.

"Nico... I'm sorry. For what I said. I guess I just didn't want you to go, you know? I... I'm gonna miss you." He admitted, looked down. He fiddled with the leather of his belt. Nico started to chuckle.

"Leo, I'll be fine. I've got Reyna and Coach with me. And Jason understands what you need. Go to him at night until I'm back." Nico said finally. Leo looked up in surprise.

"I can't have my best friend be sad while I'm gone, can I?" Nico whispered. Leo's eyes filled with tears and he pulled the younger boy into a bone-crushing hug, sobbing into his chest. Nico hugged him back with just as much force, burying his head into his hair. He could hear Reyna shouting for him but he ignored her, clinging onto Leo like his life depended on it.

But them Leo pulled back, wiping his eyes, and told him he should get going. Nico looked at him with sad eyes and swooped down, planting a quick kiss onto his cheek.

"I'll be back before you know it." He promised. Leo watched him go with a sad expression  permanently plastered onto his face. He watched him as he tied himself to the Athena Parthenos, and he watched him until he disappeared into the shadows.

***

Nico couldn't find Leo. He had been at Camp for hours now, attempting to find of the Romans with the rest of Camp Half-Blood, but he still hadn't spotted Leo. He was growing worried now. He had seen some of the others, but not his best friend. Not the Latino boy who he shared a room with.  Not the Son of Hephaestus who had grown quote attached to.

"Hey!" He shouted to a random demigod. "Have you seen Leo?"

They shook their head and Nico cursed, glancing around the place again. A swirling mass of mud appeared in the distance, and the ground turned to muss. Nico began sinking, sinking up to his waist, and he couldn't help but thinking  _this is the end._

He hadn't fulfilled his promise to Leo. He hadn't found him. He was going to die, be stuck under the earth, and Leo wouldn't know where he was. He'd be forgotten, left to rot under the dirt, forever haunted by the fact that Leo wouldn't ever see him again.

But then a flash of bronze, and Gaia was lifted into the air, in the claws of a bronze dragon. The ground was solid, and Nico clawed his way out. Riding upon the top of Festus, was the unmistakable figure of Leo Valdez, his best friend (and maybe more).

But as Leo caught sight of the Son of Hades, he mouthed words Nico couldn't understand, and then Nico could feel the familiar cold seeping into his bones, and his vision went black and white, until the sky exploded, and he could see  _everything_.

 _Leo_ , he thought wearily. But when the sky cleared, Leo was nowhere to be seen.

**Author's Note:**

> Add your own thoughts as to what Nico's promise was in the Truth or Dare game was! Hint: it was something to do with the future ;)
> 
> Also I'm so sorry pls don't hate me and leave kudos thx love you all <3


End file.
